Farmland To Be Utilized for Factories

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MOAF) announced on April 19 that it decided to abolish the confirmation hearing and procedure needed for those seeking to build a factory on agricultural land.
The regulatory body that rules on proposed construction projects, the Farmland Management Commitee, consists of local government heads and leaders of farming villages.
A ministry official said that MOAF simplified procedures needed to utilize farmland for other purposes other than farming.
Although, he added that any proposal to use agricultural land for a purpose other than farming should get the approval of local government heads, such as county chiefs, and consider the opinions of neighboring residents.
According to the revised agricutural land law that was publicized on April 19, MOAF will reduce from 50 to 100 percent the requisite fees for using farmland for other purposes. The current fee includes the appropriate amount of money needed to create other parcels of land suitable for farming; for example, the cost of preparing wild land or reclaimed land for cultivation. The law was revised in order to expand distribution and processing facilities, including distribution centers for agricutural and marine products. However, land that is zoned as 'farming promotion areas' will be unaffected by the revised law as non-farming development will still be strictly banned.
Jangsoo Seo:jsbee@joongang.co.kr